FAQ

Christmas Card Project FAQ

Production

Q: How are the cards produced?A:The designs are scanned and set up as a print ready file. They are printed on high quality white 300gsm silk coated card (has a slight sheen which makes the images look more vibrant). The cards are printed on our digital presses, which include Xerox and Konica machines which all produce excellent quality.Q: How are the cards presented back to us?A: The packs of 10 are packed in a cellophane bag with 10 diamond flap envelopes.Q: There is a small error on the card order form. What should I do?A: Please email us with you school name and unique reference number, and we will make the change will be made free of charge prior to production.Q: How long do the cards to print?A:Lead times will normally be around two weeks however it may be slightly longer. If your project gets delayed, we can sometimes turn the cards around within a week when necessary to help you get the cards to the parents in a timely manner.

Administration/General

Q: Are there any upfront costs?A: None whatsoever! When the parents/guardians order their cards they send the order form back to the project administrator along with a cheque for the full amount made out to your school or PTA. You will receive an invoice from us when we deliver your cards and this needs to be paid within two weeks, by which time you would have received payment from the parents/guardians.Q: Does the child’s name and class appear on the back of the card?A: Yes! Your school or PTA logo can also be includedQ: What do we get sent in the administration pack?A: You get sent guidelines on how to run the project, including a letter template which is used to tell parents about the fundraising project, promotional posters, artwork guidelines and a sample of one of our greeting cards.Q: Who do the parents make their cheques payable to?A:Cheques are made payable to your school or PTA. We print the details supplied to us on the order forms.Q: When does the school/PTA need to pay Marstan Christmas Cards for Schools?A:Payment is required within 14 days of receiving the finished printed cards.Q: Do we receive a VAT invoice?A: Yes. Our prices include VAT which means you can make an extra 20% if you can reclaim the VAT.Q: Does the school/PTA have to pay for Postage and Packing?A: No. We do not charge for delivery and collection of the artworks/printed cards, unless your order is under £150. The order forms need to be posted back to us using our FREEPOST label. Sometimes when a school is running behind they opt to pay for their own 24hr courier.Q: Do I need to confirm our participation?A:Yes, as we need to send you design templates for the children to do their designs on.Q: What is the deadline for submitting artwork?A:We will agree a schedule at the start of the project, however we will be as flexible as possible as we understand that delays can occur due to illness, etc. An example timeline can be seen by clicking here.Q: Can just one class take part?A: Yes, however the fewer participants, the less money you will raise, and its likely you will have to pay our £25 small order fee.Q: Can a child submit more than one design?A: Yes. It should just be submitted in the same way as the other designs, on an individual design template.Q: How much should we charge the parents and guardians?A:We recommend charging £5.50 for the first pack each parent/guardian orders and £4.50 each for additional packs.Q: How do the designs get to Marstan Christmas Cards for Schools?A: Once all the designs have been created, the project administrator should send us the artwork using the FREEPOST Label provided.Q: Can friends, relatives, teachers or parents participate?A: As long as the school is happy, we welcome additional participation. All we ask is that our artwork guidelines are followed and that our design templates are used.Q: What gets printed on the inside?A: On the order form parents can select ‘Merry Christmas’, write their own message or leave them blank.Q: Can you print the school’s main Christmas card?A: Yes, our core business is a printing company, so we can provide a very competitive quote for this. Simply get in touch using the contact us page.Q: Can other groups other than nurseries and schools participate?A: Yes! We welcome participation from any group including crèches, play groups, half term clubs, church clubs etc. Please keep in mind that small orders are subject to our small order charge of £25.

Fundraising

Q: How much can we expect to raise?A: We suggest not charging more than £5.50 per pack of cards to the parents, so that they are affordable. We charge just £3.80 for the first pack (per design), which allows you to make £1.70. Additional packs can be sold for £4.50 per pack and we sell these at £3.30 so you can make £1.20 per additional pack. Therefore, you can easily raise several hundred pounds, dependent on the size of your school. Our wide range of additional products help increase your profits. Our biggest schools have raised over £1500!Q: How can we give ourselves the best chance of raising the most money?A: You will achieve the best results for your fundraising efforts if the project is done as an in-class project rather than home work (you will get more orders if the standard of designs is higher) and the project is well promoted (we send you a letter template and promotional posters).Q: Do you offer any other school fundraising products?A:Yes we can offer a range of printed items including mugs, gift tags, thank you note paper, fridge magnets, canvas prints and wrapping paper.

Creating the Artworks

Q: Do I need to use a template?A: Yes. Once you have confirmed your participation we shall send you the template sheets. These will be sent out at the start or September or within a week if you sign up after the first week of September.Q: What gives the best results?A: Bright colours work really well, using paints, pencils or felt tips. Try are fill as much of the page as possible.